THE recent deaths of Norm Callan, formerly of Caloola, Lindsay McKellar of Hobbys Yards and Rick Rutherford of Fitzgeralds Valley took away three highly respected members of pioneer families in the Bathurst district.
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Each will be greatly missed by their many friends in Bathurst and its surrounds.
Saleyards debate
LIVESTOCK producers in southern Victoria are continuing to press the Greater City of Geelong Council to retain their local saleyards.
The issues of work health and safety, animal welfare, biosecurity, community health and social pressures have all come to the forefront, just as they did when the future of the former Bathurst yards was the subject of fierce debate.
Time has shown us that the CTLX yards have brought impressive market values to our producers and have changed some stock and station agents from being small local businesses into thriving, regional operators.
The Bathurst saleyards was really country man’s Men’s Shed, a great meeting place for district farmers “while mum did the shopping”.
Taxing times
ANY farmer who hasn’t visited his or her accountant recently may be well advised to spend an hour with that person this week.
Tax planning may well centre on:
- Farm management deposits that can now be offset against farm loans.
- Cash contributions to super funds.
- Utilising the $20,000 per purchase immediate income tax write off for items for business use.
- Pre-paying of loan interest or a significant reduction in loan commitments may not seem as attractive but would be really valuable when the wheel turns in future.
A $300 visit to your accountant may well prune many thousands of dollars from your tax settlement and also give a handy lift to local businesses.
Read all about it
ON a visit to the recently refurbished premises of our local newspaper, the Western Advocate, we were impressed by the modern work stations and meeting rooms, along with all the facilities that are needed to produce a local newspaper for a thriving country city.
Editor Murray Nicholls is obviously proud of his staff and of their intention to successfully produce our local paper for a quickly growing population.
Market moves
LAND and house values in our district have continued to rise with some rural properties that have been on the market for years being sold during recent weeks.
Houses and units in Bathurst and Orange seem to find ready buyers and some of these properties have risen in price by about 50 per cent during the last five years.
Prospective buyers who ask me for a second opinion on farmland are quick to tell me that they are buying with a view to future subdivision and position, presentation and site value are their buying criteria.
Numbers game
JUST a change from cows, grass and sheep:
- A spot on the Gunbarrel Highway where a sign says 493km Warburton; 724km to Giles; 1533km to Alice springs. That spot is closer to space than the nearest town.
- Australia’s largest electorate, Durack, at 1,587,758 square kilometres - is larger than France, Germany and Spain combined.
- Anna Creek Station in South Australia is 24,000 square kilometres - larger than Israel.
- 24 rabbits were released in Australia in 1859 and bred to approximately 10 billion in less than 70 years.
- We are probably the only country in the world that if a wall were built around us we could be totally self-sufficient in all things, and supply and feed our own population. (Thanks to CF for this information)
Wool market
THE wool market saw significant losses this week with all wool types losing ground.
The fine and superfine merinos took the biggest falls with 17 micron and finer losing around 85c/kg and the 19 microns around 50c/kg.
The 20 and 21 microns lost around 30c/kg.
The crossbred wools lost around 10c/kg and the northern market indicator finished the week on 1580c/kg, down 32c/kg.
Although this week’s market saw a significant correction, te talk is still very positive going forward, especially for the fine end of the market.
Next week will see a nationwide offering of 30,152, the smallest for 2017 so far.
Mark Horsburgh, TWG Landmark
Laugh lines
HEAVY drinkers have two reasons for staying at the local until very late – either they don’t have a wife at home, or they do.
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HE inquired about a job at the retailer. The boss said: “The damn sign at the front says ‘no vacancies’.” Our man came again: “Oh, don’t worry about me sir. The bit of work I’ll do won’t make much difference.”
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THEY argued about early professions. The surgeon said: “When God tool a rib from Adam to create Eve, that was the very first surgical operation.” The architect said: “In order to restore order from chaos, God must have been an architect.” But the wise public public servant stated: “Oh, but who created all the chaos in the first place?”
